Fallen Leaves follows a quirky story of two individuals from the worker class who happen to bump into each other amidst the external factors preventing love to blossom between them. Will love find a way? The story here is a deliberate dry account of humour and romance which is far from the ones that you may have witnessed in cinema. There are bittersweet undertones to the proceedings packaged in a brand of humour which may not necessarily make you laugh out loud but almost relish it with a stoic face. And therein lies the beauty that treats its relationships with a pinch of salt. The screenplay standing at just 80 minutes guarantees a quick watch which is not necessarily indulging in its relationships or plot points but just painting a picture which is grim but sprinkled with a little sugar and quirkiness. 

The drama begins with the introduction of one of the two protagonist who works at a general store on a zero contract basis. She prefers taking expired food home much to the dismay of a grumpy security guard who complains to the higher authorities. Elsewhere, you are introduced to the other protagonist working in a sandblaster and an alcoholic. The two often bump into each other with occasional pleasantries exchanged until both are hit by a cupid. The twist in the tale lies in the external factors that prevent them from uniting. The writers do a wonderful job in constructing a drama which is true to its title. Much like ‘Fallen Leaves’, the drama here us intentionally dry highlighting the hardships of the worker class quite efficiently. The dual nature of the writing can be identified through two instances – one being the characters who are lonely and often depressed with life, and the other linking their depression with some further grim news of Russia invading Ukraine. The geo-political flavour in the drama is much to do with the depression of the characters as well given that Finland shares a border with Russia thereby fearing the worst for themselves. 

The humour in the drama is unique given that it isn’t exactly in your face but more situational. The drama briefly unfolds like the Before Sunset series before coming to a gruelling stop owing to a situation that arises after a character loses a chit of paper. The drama is stacked with such incidents that almost make you double guess on whether the duo would actually unite with each other and that is accentuated in a funny yet tragic final act that accomodates another one of those situations. Having said that, I was a little on the fence with the simplistic ending but the other part of me was gleefully accomodating given that everyone deserves second chances and their stake at a happy ending. Overall, the screenplay is niche which might be met with extreme reactions based on their acquired taste of cinema. I for one absolutely loved the dry approach of the drama.